SPAR independent retailer M&L Richardson & Sons Ltd has opened two new SPAR stores in as many weeks taking the business’ store portfolio to 11 sites.
A new SPAR store has opened in Carlisle’s historic city centre breathing new life into a previously vacant retail unit in English Street. Meanwhile, just over the Cumbria border into Northumberland, a comprehensive changeover has taken place at Edens Lawn Service Station in Haltwhistle which is now a SPAR store and Esso forecourt.
SPAR English Street has a comprehensive convenience offer with a strong Food To Go range, including hot food, and SPAR’s popular meal deal at different times of day. There is a Cheeky Coffee unit, Tango Ice Blast and Calippo slush machines, with a beers, wines and spirits section, as well as big brand products at low prices.
Services offered through SPAR English Street will include home delivery via Deliveroo and JustEat when they are up and running soon, and this extends to the store becoming an Evri parcel drop off and collection location later in the Autumn.
At Edens Lawn Service Station, the SPAR store has a hugely improved range of fresh goods to better serve customers, and now has an off licence to sell beers, wines and spirits.
The transformation of Edens Lawn has also seen a focus on Food To Go with the introduction of SPAR’s meal deal and the installation of a new Cheeky Coffee machine.
Externally the eight-pump forecourt has air, water and vacuum facilities, a car jet wash, and InPost parcel lockers. The Evri collection and drop-off service available in-store has been retained with the changeover.
On SPAR English Street, Martyn Richardson, of M&L Richardson & Sons Ltd, said: “It has been an incredible effort by the whole team to open SPAR English Street and the store looks terrific.
“With its city centre location, we really are catering for the ‘on the go’ customer with our range and offer, and the delivery services when launched soon will appeal to a city customer base.
“It was a brilliant opportunity to place a SPAR store in a prime spot in Carlisle and we really feel we have got a fantastic proposition for customers.”
Turning his attention to Edens Lawn Service Station, Martyn said: “It was too good an opportunity to miss out on when we learned the service station in our local area had become available for acquisition.
“From a business perspective, we are confident it will be a success as it is on the main road in and out of Haltwhistle.
“It’s been a busy couple of weeks getting it ready and bringing it back into existence as a forecourt and it has been an amazing turnaround. I cannot thank the team enough for the work that has gone into its opening.
“With the nature of the store being a forecourt site, you are catering towards ‘on the go’, but there is also a comprehensive convenience offer for customers in Haltwhistle to take advantage of as we have a great community close to the store.”
M&L Richardson & Sons Ltd operate nine forecourts with SPAR stores and two non-forecourt SPAR stores across Cumbria and the North East of England.
The stores are serviced by James Hall & Co. Ltd, a fifth-generation family business, which serves a network of independent SPAR retailers and company-owned SPAR stores across Northern England six days a week from its base in Preston.
